Having Fun in Hanoi

We had a great day today in Hanoi. We headed out this morning for a walk around the Old Quarter and happened upon a beautiful temple where one of the nuns invited us inside. The property was beautiful, and Chloe had a great time jumping in the puddles in the courtyard. When we returned from our walk, we met Ninh and a few of the other couples in our adoption group and then headed out to the pool for a bit. In the afternoon, we met up with Amanda and Matt for another walk and then a great meal at the Green Tangerine.

Early observations about Hanoi... First, the traffic (wow)... It's everything people write about and more. Crossing the street really is a dangerous sport. Second, Hanoi has everything you would ever need for your baby. Chloe likes to nap in a stroller, so we were able to find one easily today. We're finding that if you're a big stroller junky like we are, a stroller is usable in Hanoi, but you have to be able to lift the stroller up from time to time. Third, walking around the Hao Kiem Lake is a lot of fun. It seems to be the place to go for formal portraits. We saw a bride and groom being photographed and several others in formal clothes having their pictures taken.

We're adjusting well, but our body clocks are way off. Chloe started her nap around 3:00 (in the stroller), and she refuses to wake up still. It should be an interesting night when she wakes up at midnight. Chris just fell asleep as well, so it looks like it's lights of at 7:00 for us. With such little sleep over the last 48 hours, we've all been running on a combination of adrenaline and excitement. I think we're calming down now and crashing.

As a sidebar, it's amazing to realize that we are finally in Gabrielle's birth country. We keep reflecting on what she may be doing at this very moment, and we can't wait to enjoy the land of her birth with her in our arms. It's on Chloe's mind as well. She tells everyone we meet that we're here to adopt our baby.